Whatsup?

I currently own a sweet 1988 BMW 325is. I've spent the last year and a half modifying the car and, though I love it, it may be time to say bye-bye.

The reason? I'm a senior in Highschool (AZ) and will be going off to college next year (SoCal). As much as I love my bimmer, parts and repairs are freggin expensive! If a major problem should arise, I would be screwed.

I'm also a little disappointed with the performance of my car. The handling is incredible, but the power leaves something to be desired. My engine is really chocked by the AFM and 12 valve head. I have an Exhaust, intake, headwork, cam, chip, DEC cat, and I am only pushing 200hp. 1/4 times should be mid 14's.

Anyway enough about my ride...on to the Maxmias!

I work part time as a valet so I get to drive the 4th generation Maximas all the time. They are incredible! The handling isn't close to my BMW, but the Maxima has more power, luxury features, etc.

What should I look for when I search for a 4th Generation maxmia? Leather is a must (I'm picky). Transmission doesn't matter (I love driving stick, but there are times when I just want to relax). Color doesn't matter, but if the Maxima came in Blue or Royal purple, I would hold out for that.

Are there any years I should avoid? By this I mean is the 95 Maxmia trouble since it was the first year of the 4th generation?

Finally, what about performance? $3,600 for the Votech supercharger? I paid about that for all my mods and only got 32hp!

What other serious power upgrades are out there? I'd like to be able to run low 14's or high 13's. Is there a Supercharger/Turbo out there that can get me to that level? In order to achieve those times would I have to get a manual transmission?

Please help a brother out...

 

Its up to you what you want. I own a 4th gen and i love it. Though its auto, i think it has plenty of power for me. (My work truck is stick so i get teh best of both worlds )

You may even wait for teh 2k2 max to come out wiht the 260hp 3.5L mated to a 6 speed. I personally dont think it will be much faster at all.

If you want a fast max, get a 5 speed. The guys with 5 speeds w/ intake and full exhaust and pulley run anywhere from 14.9-14.5 I have no idea what they run with a ECU upgrade. Jeff K here when he had his 4th gen 5 speed w/ intake, y-pipe, ecu, & drags ran 14.3. madmax2k has a 5 speed 2k max w/ intake & y-pipe runs 14.38. Mid 14's should not be a problem when you are N/A.

Guy with the S/Ced 5 speed run low 14's-low 13's. Low 13's are easy with some practice and a little more boost. Elevation and launches kill people here.

If you go auto, NOS teh sucker. hehe. Autos with intake, ecu, and full exhaust see about 15.3-15.1 We have yet to see a N/A auto run 14's. At least i havent yet. The S/Ced autos usually run mid 14's or so. There are a few guys here who have 13 sec autos that are S/Ced. Steve in Chicago has a 13.5 S/Ced auto. Not sure about the other NOSed auto guys.

 

I agree w/ the previous guy, wait for the 2k2 maxima, you get 255 hw, stick/leather/all the goodies, for like 31-32k and it will be fairly fast and probably handle great, if you want a 4th gen you'll have to do some twicking, I have a 95 and I haven't realy had any problems at all, my starter was sticking so I lubed it up and it's perfect now, other then that I haven't had 1 problem (ok, maybe I've had, like the air fan speed would only work on 4th speed, but that was $32 bucks + 5 min fix ) but that's a rare thing to break. so to get the 4th gen max to go as fast as you want you'll have to get a 95/96 (because you can do a chip on it, other years chip isn't very successful, 10hp on these years) plus you can do the cold instake/pop charger + a y-pipe, i hear it's great+cat+b-pipe and then a SC and then you'll be pushing low 14's, if you really want more after that you'll have to get Nitro, the guys who've done it love it and haven't gotten any problems with it, our motor is really strong so it can handle things like that

good luck

 

I own a 4th Gen and I love it. No problems at 76000 miles and still running like new. Smooth ride also.

 

for your college days...do the standard I/E mods. Then when you're out of school return to back to your faithful BMW.

 

have you consider the sentra SE? with the SR20DE engine you can get turbo for liek $5000 and pump it up to 300hp, I don't remember the exact details, check http://www.b15sentra.net/

since you're used to small cars, you would probably like the sentra's handling better, leather seats are not an issue you can always do it aftermarket and they'll be better then OEMs

 

Hey straight six i remember your car from e30.net and i must say that is a nice car you have there.Well if you had the money i would tell you to do the m50 swap or the m3 swap but i see that those can be costly.Well the 4 gen is a sweet car and has growing aftermarket support,and can be a fast beast when tuned right.It is also a car with show and go Well except those in the S.M.C there just show j/k.Well i hope the org can help u decide on which route to choose and good luck with your choice.

 

It's tough to know what to suggest without a price range (hence the 2002 suggestions), since it seems that $$ may not be the limiting factor (thousands in mods). Also if the step from BMW to Nissan is hard in terms of brand cache, there's the Infiniti I30t as well (good luck finding a 5spd)

AFAIK, the 4th gen came fairly bug free out of the gate (I'm sure there's a FAQ on this right guys/gals?). There's a fairly recent thread that details the differences from year to year.

Early 4th gens are getting pretty cheap, but the may be bottom rung cars. That's actually not a problem though since you can almost swap a GXE up to GLE or SE equivalent with mods or OEM parts. They all have the same engine/transmission. 5spd recommended as the gearing's more aggressive.

As far as mods go, there are power mods, but you may appreciate the handling mods more. FSTB, RSB and springs/struts or coilovers may be in your future.
If I'm not mistaken, you live in the land of Cattman performance (AZ? www.cattman.com) and are going to school near the SoCalers. You may be able to arrange a ride in a modded Maxima and see what to expect.

As far as power goes, there is the supercharger from Stillen, as well as a bunch of normally aspirated options.
If going all out, The supercharger's hard to avoid, and you may want to consider the header set that emax95's been trying (with wider piping) or a "big" y-pipe. RT cat and custom high flow exhaust to round it out. UDP, flywheel and even the fastbrakes kit (with lighter rims) all go towards freeing up the power.

Wheels/tires can go through the roof (as on any car). Many go with 17x8, but IMHO, 16x7.5's the way to go as its lighter and cheaper for wheels and tires and there are models that can clear big brake upgrades such as the 300ZX calipers or the more recent fastbrakes kit.

If a good car comes up without leather comes up, don't pass on it immediately. Check out www.leatherseats.com and/or the group deals forum. There's another interior site that I saw on another forum, but can't recall it. Also consider the interior trim in bryshed aluminum, carbon fiber or wood.

I'm not a big audio buff, but there's a specific forum for it here. I'm fine with the Bose system myself, but others rip it out first chance (get it cheap!). Boses can be generally problematic because of quality control at Clarion.
Get it fixed (davescoolstuff.com, carstereohelp.com, bosehelp.com) and enjoy

re Other cars:
Of course on a Maxima forum, you'll hear about Maximas
Without your limiting criteria (cost? handling? luxury? speed? Age of car? # of cylinders?) It's tough to suggest.

good luck

 

Thanks for the reply's guys! I like this forum already!

Hey MILLENIUM MAX! It's me, that SOB known as "Lukas 88is" around the bmwe30.net. Do you still own an E30? What type do you have/had? Still bump around the e30.net?

Here's the deal on my budget/goal.

I love my E30, but I want a car with more power and comfort. I'd love to buy a E36 M3 or an E34 540i, and I could afford one of the two, but this would not be a smart move because:

1. My account would be drained leaving me with no savings for college.

2. The cars would be entering the BMW ownership hell area (100,000-150,000 miles). Every repair I had to do to my E30 would have to be done to these cars. Since my bank account was already drained by the purchase of the car, I wouldn't be able to afford repairs.

IMHO, BMW's are the best cars in the world, but they are not the best bargains.

So what cars can provide more power and luxury for a reasonable price? Cross out the American made ****. Check the expensive German cars. On to the Asian cars! 300ZX? Not my style. Acura Legend? Too big. Toyota Supra? Tempting but... Maxmia? I like that.

I mean damn...Maximas cost about half as much as a 540i, but they are almost as luxurious, are slightly slower, and don't look quite as sharp. While I still would choose the BMW if I had the cash flow, the Maxima is a hell of a deal.

I think I'll hang out here for a while (if you guys don't mind) and learn the ropes.

Y'all don't mind a BMW owner chillin with ya do ya? Hell, I know Maxima Ryder (Sorry about what happened BTW) from DTMPOWER.

Later guys...I'm off to Cali for 4 days.

 

I own a 98 GXE, its my 3rd maxima, i've previously owned a 1st gen, and a 3rd gen. My current car has 121,000 miles and its a 98 (~100 mile commute every day) and i have only had to replace one of the front oxygen sensors, the rest have been trouble free miles. I would wait however since the rebates and incentives on the 5th gen are sure to get bigger towards the end of this year.


BTW nice screen name

 

get a 4th gen u will love it

 

That is a really nice ride you got there, Its a shame that you want to get rid of it. Its also a plus that you want a MAXIMA to ride out in.

The Pro's of Maximas: Great Styling, Confortable Ride, Nice Head/Leg Room, Great Engine(++), Good Moddability, after 200K Miles it stills running strong.

The Con's of Maximas: High Ride height(easily taken care of), Starter Failure(Easily Taken Care of, Happens once, maybe never), Poor Roadlight Quality.

Thats pretty much it most of which can be easily resolved with not a pocket full of money....If I left anything out someone include there Pro's or Con's.

BTW, you may know my brother from DTMPOWER.net (esco). He also went toward Nissan due to the Constant troubles and expenses he had with his E30. Oh its a '95 (S14)240SX SE 5spd

 

I doubt our lights are weaker then his 88 BMW, anyways you can always upgrade to real HID

 

get a 4th gen maxima and make sure it's a 5-spd. i didn't and it was the biggest mistake ever. the difference between them is like a second on the 1/4mile and the trannies are semi-fragile. get a 5-spd and s/c it with a stage 3 clutch. exhaust and flywheel.

 

you should be able to find a good 5 speed 4th gen for around $10,000 - any year is fine. And exhaust + intake (~$500 total) will put you around 14.8 with a 5spd and 15.5 with an auto. I voted for you to keep your car and I would buy some cheap used car as a backup so that if something goes bad with the BMW you are not required to spend a lot of money. I really don't think you can make a bad choice. Around here most of us really like BMWs and just saw the maxima as a faster car for a lot less money. (325i vs. 5spd 4th gen)

 

wholy cow, was that 1/4 mile done w/ all that gum in there??? you should've taken it out, would've improved the time

 

My brother owns this same car, and the lights(we both have the same bulbs) are just about the same lighting but his HiBeams kick mines ****!!

 

My brother owns this same car, and the lights(we both have the same bulbs) are just about the same lighting but his HiBeams kick mines ****!!

 

My brother owns this same car, and the lights(we both have the same bulbs) are just about the same lighting but his HiBeams kick mines ****!!

 

Welcome to the Maxima board, BMWstraightsix!
My wife's car is an '88 BMW 325e 4 door with the 2.7 litre inline 6 and no a/c. She bought it as a demo clearance model.
Are you sure you can't hang onto that car? Its a hot item up here in Vancouver, Canada as many ppl love to have one. They go very quickly once they are advertised in the local Buy&Sell newspaper.
A friend of mine had the same car as yours but with an auto tranny. I loved driving it when I got the chance.

 

The 4th generation Maximas do come in blue. I believe there are a couple different shades spread out over the 5 years that they made the 4th gens. The 95 and 96s came in a dark blue color. The 97s and possibly 98s came in a color called Clearcoat Neptune Blue. I have a 97 5-speed SE in this color, and I love it. At night, this color looks the best. Its a dark metallic blue color. When the sun is shining on it, there is a slight purple hue evident. So if you are interested in a blue or royal purple color as you indicated, this might be your best bet. Beware that it is probably one of the rarest colors the Maxima came in....

 

I have a 1995, with 183,000 miles. Compression is still good, burns no oil whatsoever, and even stock I school vtecs all day long. They are nice, easy to modify, more spacious and come with a good stereo stock (Bose). Get a 5-speed, if you enjoy driving one at all. I have had mine for about 6 months, and have had only minor problems (ones that I knew about before I purchased the car), and I got it for $4,200. With all N/A mods, and a new paintjob, I will still have only spent 7k on her and I don't know of any other car that can top that power/luxury per dollar ratio. Just my $.02, hope it helps. BTW it gets good gas mileage, and the backseat is big enough for me (6'3" 225lbs.) to f**k in, both VERY important considerations when in college, from my experience (I graduate in May '02). Obviously college did little for my tact and appropriety.

Lee

 

Seeing as how we are all giving our own opinions here is mine:

Save up about 20G's.. selling your car or not is your choice... Buy a used 4th gen 5spd for around 10ish, and throw a set of rims/tires, coilovers and adjustable struts, fstb and rsb, sway bar, intake, headers w/ ypipe, high flow cat, exhaust, b-pipe, a stillen SC, and then do a stillen or sarona body kit and work on the interior..

Do not buy the max and then save up here and there for stuff.. so not worth your time.. i got mine and bought stuff as i went along and all i do is want more.. save up and get it all done at once..

btw: i have a 2k1 330i 5spd and it ****es all over my auto max.. without forced induction ill never stand a chance against it..

 

I'll have to back you up on that, although i'm only 5'11".